WiFi Antenna Comparison

[robgrant1]

Originally Posted by Onemoreproject

I've read a lot of threads on this forum and some outdated magazine reviews, but haven't found exactly what I am looking for.

I'd like to hear from people with hands on experience comparing if possible the following products.

The Groove by Island Time
The Wirie
Bitstorm Bad Boy
Rogue Wave
I haven't seen any reviews comparing The Groove to any of the above mentioned systems. I have heard it performs well, but is hard to set up and generally less user friendly.
I am not a techie and want something that is plug and play and easy to use.
We are planning on travelling to many different countries and am looking for one that will be internationally wifi compatible as well.
A DIY antenna is of 0 interest.

Thank-you anyone in advance for sharing your experience.

Just bought the Wirie Pro, but won't have it installed until early June. The Wirie and the Rogue are known for their user-friendly interfaces.

I went with the Wirie because it can be used with a sim card to enable 3G/4G service. We plan to sail in the Bahamas and grab free wifi where we can and use a BTC sim card where unsecured networks are unavailable.

Good luck!

[seasick]

I have had a Rogue Wave for several years. When hooked to my lap top for the first time I went from seeing three router options to over fifty in Honolulu's AliWai Basin. Of the those it picked up about forty five were encrypted, requiring a passcode. The other five were so slow as to be unusable. I assume this was because so many other cruisers were targeting these. I envisioned some poor old lady on the 12th floor of a nearby condo who just figured the Internet was something you wait forever to load not realizing half the marina was on her system.

We have switched to cell data and avoid high bandwidth activity. The Rogue Wave is just another item collecting dust and mold in a locker.

[robgrant1]

Originally Posted by seasick

I have had a Rogue Wave for several years. When hooked to my lap top for the first time I went from seeing three router options to over fifty in Honolulu's AliWai Basin. Of the those it picked up about forty five were encrypted, requiring a passcode. The other five were so slow as to be unusable. I assume this was because so many other cruisers were targeting these. I envisioned some poor old lady on the 12th floor of a nearby condo who just figured the Internet was something you wait forever to load not realizing half the marina was on her system.

We have switched to cell data and avoid high bandwidth activity. The Rogue Wave is just another item collecting dust and mold in a locker.

Do you use a hotspot with a sim card?

[Onemoreproject]

Originally Posted by seasick

I have had a Rogue Wave for several years. When hooked to my lap top for the first time I went from seeing three router options to over fifty in Honolulu's AliWai Basin. Of the those it picked up about forty five were encrypted, requiring a passcode. The other five were so slow as to be unusable. I assume this was because so many other cruisers were targeting these. I envisioned some poor old lady on the 12th floor of a nearby condo who just figured the Internet was something you wait forever to load not realizing half the marina was on her system.

We have switched to cell data and avoid high bandwidth activity. The Rogue Wave is just another item collecting dust and mold in a locker.

When you say you "switched to cell data", exactly what does that entail (equipment contracts?) to get internet access on your computer and how much does that cost? Does that work outside the US?
Thanks!

[monroe0]

I pieced together what Island Time offers with the MikroTik Groove booster, an EnGenious 8db antenna, and a MikroTik RB951 WiFi router. I have it all working, in retrospect I wish I had purchased through Island Time so I had someone to call. One extreme advantage of this rig is it can be wired directly in to a 12v or 24v system, and will function all the way down to 9v. Very happy with it.

[kelbylinn]

Have had a Wirie for about 3 years now. No Problems, simple installation, and works well primarily at Marinas where you have the passwords given to you. In the real world, most sites found are pass-worded so of no value to you.

[a64pilot]

For those that have the Wirie Pro that can use a sim card and get data that way.
Why not just use a cell phone as a hotspot?

[kelbylinn]

We actually do use our Verizon MIFI when no outside service is showing up that we can grab onto. Have also used My IPhone Hotspot as well. It does work, but Verizon charges obviously apply, where a marina's hotspot or nearby source not pass-worded, is of course free...?

[Ragha]

I have used the mast mounted Bitstorm Bad Boy for one season in Sweden, Denmark and Germany. Connects with the wifi Cable, so no losses from mast height. Just took it out of the box; it worked with the included wireless Wifi-router without any problems. No setup, just a drop-down list with countries. Select your country, and it automatically adjusts to legal requirements. Found lots of networks in every port, but sometimes problems to find an open one to connect to if there was no guest network in the marina.

[a64pilot]

Years ago, open wireless was not un-common, and usually wired internet plans were unlimited data so it wasn't that big an issue.
Now a lot of access is metered, you pay for the data you use, and almost every one encrypts their routers.
Once in a blue moon, you will find an open one, but I won't connect unless it's meant to be a public access point, doing so to me is stealing, just as if some one left their car unlocked doesn't make it right to take it into town without permission.

I've sort of given up on WIFI, very rarely have I ever stayed at a Marina that has decent speed, and those times were not inexpensive Marina's either and I don't frequent expensive ones if I can help it.

That is why my interest in the Wirie Pro, is it that much better than using a cell phone as a hotspot, is it worth the extra cost?

[Onemoreproject]

Thats a great question and I am eagerly awaiting answers. I do need a better solution then the one we use right now for wifi in our Marina.

[robgrant1]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

For those that have the Wirie Pro that can use a sim card and get data that way.
Why not just use a cell phone as a hotspot?

I plan to get a BTC gsm sim card from mrsimcard (mrsimcard.com +1-703-953-2272 | +44.7520763500- @mrsimcard) and plug it into the Wirie Pro. My cell service is Verizon (cdma), so my phone won't take the BTC sim card (at least I don't think it will). Besides that, if you do use your phone for talk and text, it's less convenient than having a dedicated hotspot, in my case, the Wirie.

[robgrant1]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

For those that have the Wirie Pro that can use a sim card and get data that way.
Why not just use a cell phone as a hotspot?

Here's a better explanation of the pros and cons than I can provide.

Mobile Hotspot vs Jetpacks, Tablets, or Home Fusion | Wireless World :: Blog

[Jd1]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Years ago, open wireless was not un-common, and usually wired internet plans were unlimited data so it wasn't that big an issue.
Now a lot of access is metered, you pay for the data you use, and almost every one encrypts their routers.
Once in a blue moon, you will find an open one, but I won't connect unless it's meant to be a public access point, doing so to me is stealing, just as if some one left their car unlocked doesn't make it right to take it into town without permission.

I've sort of given up on WIFI, very rarely have I ever stayed at a Marina that has decent speed, and those times were not inexpensive Marina's either and I don't frequent expensive ones if I can help it.

That is why my interest in the Wirie Pro, is it that much better than using a cell phone as a hotspot, is it worth the extra cost?

I don't understand why people are so protective of there wifi connection. These days you can bandwidth limit open access easily (and give yourself priority) and where I am located the internet is generally not metered unless you are into gigabytes of traffic. I provide an open link at my house and, when I am connected to a hotspot with the boat I will share that as well (although the boat router has very limited range).
I have not noticed any abuse issues.

BTW, can't say enough about Island Time and their support but am quite disappointed in the state of the software that ships with wifi extenders. The bullet software was bad but the groove is substantially worse. I had several bullets fail on me so when I switched to the groove I bought two units to have a spare (internet connectivity is important to me). So far I have not had any failures ....

[YachtBroker]

I have a wirie and have had no issues with it. We have used it at some distances that I guessed were more than a quarter mile and it seemed to work fine. I used a friends Rouge Wave in the bvi and had good results also.